Right whale newborn found on Fla. beach
Researchers are looking for the reason a newborn North Atlantic right whale with umbilical cord still attached washed up on a Florida beach.
State wildlife officials loaded the 15-foot-long carcass weighing more than 1,500 pounds onto a trailer and took it to the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine to determine the cause of death Saturday, the South Fla. Sun-Sentinel reported.
Right whales, which got their name because they were particularly easy and profitable to hunt, hover close to extinction with a worldwide population of about 300, the newspaper said. Researchers said they hope clues from the carcass's necropsy will aid conservation efforts.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International